The 37th running of The Japan Cup (G1) in association with LONGINES
Invitational race
Sunday, 26 November 2017

2016 winner: Kitasan Black(JPN)

Course Description

The Japan Cup is run over 2400m on turf on a left-handed track. The race starts from the homestretch, about 300m from the winning post. The first 440m run to the first turn is flat, leading into the backstretch. After traveling 1100m, there is a gentle slope of 1.8m (0.23%) going down from 780m. From this point, there is a sharp rise of 1.2m (2%) for 60m, and after running flat for 80m, just before the third turn, there is another slope of 2.2m (0.64%) going down for 260m. Leading into the final 525m homestretch, there is a gradual rise of 30cm (0.3%) for 100m and a steady uphill of 2m (1.7%) for 120m, with a flat final 300m remaining to the winning post.

Circumference
2,083.1m

Width
31 - 41m

Homestretch (final turn to finish)
525m

2,400m (T) Record Time as of January 2015
Alkaased (27 November 2005) 2:22.1

Followed by Satono Crown and maaaybe Guignol (although his times aren't that good on paper). And if Idaho finds back to his form in June he is one to keep an eye out.

Would love to see Soul Stirring take this one, but I think the distance/competition is too much for her. Iquitos is just... slower than Guignol and seems more suited for soft/yielding courses. If it's raining a lot I wouldn't count him out either.

Lemaire has been riding very well, so his presence on Rey de Oro is a plus for me. I'm really rooting for KB, but this is a stacked field. I wouldn't be surprised to see any one of six or seven entrants take this race.

The Japanese horses are all so lean, with a greyhound look. But Makahiki takes that to the extreme, with his really deep shoulder/chest tapering up to a wasp waist.
I know that the Japanese haven't actually created a new breed of TB, but they sure look different. I presume that, along with breeding for a less muscular type, they also employ different training and feeding regimens from what we might see here in the US.